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Black Bart
History (Weird West) Black Bart is something of a mystery. No one knows his real name or where he lives. All that’s known for sure is that he’s the most infamous stagecoach robber in the West. Since his first appearance in 1875, he’s robbed nearly 20 stages in California and Nevada, about half of them Wells Fargo stages. He’s taken in nearly $20,000 during his “career.” Just as a stage comes around a bend, Bart will usually appear in the middle of the road with a rifle pointed at the driver. He wears a long, white duster and hides his face with a hood made by cutting eyeholes in an old flour sack. His voice is hollow, deep, and eerie. However, he is calm and polite, especially to women passengers (whose jewelry and cash he does not steal). Though he’s never had to shoot anyone, he makes it clear that he brooks no interference or sass from his victims. His poise and obvious ability help him maintain control of the situation. His play is backed by his gang, the members of which hide in nearby rocks and brush and keeps the stagecoach covered with their rifles. After Bart takes off with the loot, he leaves a scrap of paper with the driver or in the now-empty strongbox, which has bad poetry written on it. This identifies him as “Black Bart the Po8” (poet). Black Bart has proven so elusive that some folks think he’s actually a ghost! However, the Texas Rangers, private detectives, Pinkertons, and United States Marshals continue to hunt him (many for the $300 reward offered for him by the Wells Fargo Company), though so far they’ve had no success at all. Black Bart’s not actually a ghost, just a mighty cagey robber. His real name is Charles E. Boles or Bolton. He was born in 1830 in New York and currently lives in a hotel in Shan Fan. He is a mining engineer by training, and he fought briefly for the Union in an Illinois regiment. Despite his chosen profession, he is a pacifist who doesn’t even load his guns! If confronted with real force, he flees. If confronted by armed lawmen, he surrenders. He doesn’t have a gang. He uses dummies to make it look like he’s got a bunch of men backing him up. In truth, it’s him and him alone. Heroes may suspect that Bart’s appearance out of nowhere and ability to evade pursuit indicate supernatural powers. They don’t. They indicate intelligence and clever planning. Bart avoids leaving bootprints by wearing a large pair of black socks over his boots (observant stagecoach drivers may notice this). He’s also a skilled outdoorsman who walks to and from his robberies (often for days or weeks) rather than using a horse. Bart picks his targets and his place of ambush well and makes use of his reputation instead of his guns. Bart is an older man with a bushy white moustache. He has a scar on his right forehead from a rifle wound he received from one of the few stagecoach drivers he couldn’t intimidate. Profile Information and Marshal Uses Corporeal: D:4d8, N:3d8, S:2d6, Q:3d6, V:2d6 Dodge 6d8, shootin’: pistol, rifle 2d8, teamster 2d8 Mental: C:3d8, K:3d6, M:3d6, Sm:4d10, Sp:3d6 Academia: poetry 2d6, area knowledge: California 2d6, language: English 2d6, overawe 4d6, survival 5d10, trackin’ 5d8, trade: engineer 3d6 Wind: 12 Edges: Luck o’ the Irish Hindrances: Outlaw –3, pacifist –3 Gear: One Colt Dragoon pistol, one Winchester ’76 rifle, rope, horse, and $450. Category:NPC Category:Deadlands NPCs